Representations of Rap Music in Cinema: Forms of Resistance and Reconciliation in Casablanca Beats

Abstract

Cinema is an art connected to social reality, interacting with groups that are actors of societal transformation. Groups that cannot make their voices heard within dominant cultures can develop a resistance against the dominant culture or find a path of reconciliation with it through subcultures, thereby creating an alternative space for themselves. Therefore, although subcultures are often perceived as a form of resistance, they can sometimes be functional in the path towards reconciliation with society. As an alternative form of expression, subcultures can find an opportunity of representation in recent films produced in many different countries. This study examines how rap subculture is represented in cinema. With this aim in mind, the film Casablanca Beats (Ayouch, 2021), which is one of the noteworthy examples of Moroccan cinema in recent years, has been selected as an example. Casablanca Beats (Ayouch, 2021) addresses the emergence of a dynamic rap subculture among young characters, and how through this path, they create a lifeline for themselves by forming a resistance against normative values. In this study, the reflection of rap music subcultural practices in Casablanca Beats (Ayouch, 2021) is examined using the Descriptive Analysis method guided by Raymond Williams' framework of the “dominant”, “residual”, and “emerging” cultures. The results of the study reveal that in the film, young characters find a space of autonomous expression through subcultural practices, form group identities, challenge societal determinants, but on the other hand, they are also observed to engage in efforts to reconcile with the dominant culture by transforming it.